To Die Fighting
by ten42inthePM
Summary: After the breakout, a Marine is deployed to his hometown to try to rescue survivors. He meets old friends and lovers and must decide their fates even though his is already sealed...
1. Insertion and Mission Orders

The high pitched whine of the helicopter's engine was muffled by the sound suppressors that Sgt. Joel Roscord wore over his ears. He looked around the interior at the black camo painted faces of his squad. Nine other nervous men filled the hold of the Blackhawk, each one mentally preparing himself for the tasks ahead. Joel's own mind was filled with slight apprehension at the approaching op. He had been a combat Marine for more than four years but he was still getting the jitters. Perhaps it was because they were deploying on home soil, or maybe it was because he was returning to his home town.

"Sergeant, we're about three minutes out. Prep for drop!"

"Thanks for the heads up Lieutenant. Squad, by the numbers prep for drop. Man the port and starboard ropes. We're hot in three!"

Joel took the headset from his ears and strapped on his helmet. Then he dropped his goggles into place over his eyes and moved into his position on the drop line. His squad and he all made their last minute checks on their equipment and weapons. The helicopter slowed and pulled into a hover above a large community building. Spotlights were on around the building and the Marines could see the fortifications already in place and the soldiers manning them.

"GO GO GO!"

The first two Marines gripped the fast ropes and slid down them, with the next pair only seconds behind. One after another they debarked the helicopter until all ten Marines were on the small roof of the building. Once empty, the helicopter moved off and was replaced by another and ten more Marines landed on the roof.

Roscord's squad immediately began entering the building through the roof access door and moved down into the interior into the Command Center for Sector 32 Survivor Collection Point. Inside was a large, bustling room filled with soldiers and coordinators, communicators and specialists, all trying desperately to coordinate the efforts of multiple units of Marines and soldiers who were attempting to evacuate all uninfected civilians to the safe zone.

Joel looked around for a moment longer, then after spotting the Commander in charge of the op, walked purposefully toward him for his orders.

"Sir, Sgt. Roscord reporting for duty."

Joel saluted the Army officer, even though it was not a Marine custom to salute indoors. The Commander looked up from his desk and returned the salute.

"Sgt. I'm sorry I can't take more time to brief you any more than you already have been, but here is our general situation. This is our C&C here,"

He pointed to a large map on the nearest wall and indicated a large red dot. Then he indicated an even larger blue circle farther north on the map.

"and this is our safe zone. It is a college stadium about twelve miles north of here. This is where we are bringing all of the survivors. Right now a battalion from the 101st airborne is holding that position and they already have well over two thousand civilians housed there. We have Marine Force Recon and Army Delta Force search squads combing the city with a fine tooth comb right now, searching out survivors. Your assignment is Grid H, Sector 32. It's a suburban district, with a small high school and some business areas. Standing orders are if you locate small groups of survivors, escort them to the safe zone via your transport or on foot if necessary, and if you find a large group, secure them and protect them until an airlift can pull them out. Understand?"

"Yes sir. What are the enemy dispositions?"

Joel winced when he said enemy, because at this point, the enemy was infected humans, who had died and come back as the walking dead. This meant that people he knew might be walking the street, hungering for his blood.

The Commander did not notice his discomfort and once again indicated the map.

"Grids I, J, and E are completely overrun. Avoid these areas at all costs. Everywhere else have some instances of contamination and are being searched and quarantined. You're sector is not so close too the outbreak areas, so hopefully you wont have much contact. And do you know how to dispatch these, uh… targets?"

"Yes sir, we were briefed on that. We are prepared to move out now Sir, so if you have no further need of me, we'll head out."

"Fantastic, get your squad out on the street. Good luck son."

Joel saluted the Commander again and quickly wheeled about towards his squad once the officer had returned it. His men were waiting patiently near the heavily guarded front entrance.

"Are we goin boss?"

"Damn straight, head out. We're gonna find us some Humvees and boogie. We got a bit of a ride to our sector but luckily for you all, your Sergeant happens to have local knowledge of the area and knows how to get you all there faster, and safely to boot."

"Aww gee, thanks Sarge! That means a lot to us!"

The ten Marines headed to the heavily guarded parking lot of the municipal building and selected three Humvees near the entrance. They all piled in and Joel took the driver seat of the lead vehicle.

"Hansen and Gregory, you guys follow tight on me, we don't have time to waste dawdling around. We need to get to our grid ASAP and save some people."

"Yes sir, we're on it."

The three Humvees pulled out of the motor-pool and out onto the road. They drove down eerily deserted streets, and passed oddly vacant houses. Street lights flickered on and off, with many houses dark in the night. Joel wondered how many people were hiding in those dark houses, or whether this area had already been evacuated.

Baker, the Corporal manning the .50 cal Ma Deuce on the roof of the Humvee knocked on the roof of the speeding vehicle.

"Sarge! I see somebody! At our three o'clock! They're being chased by a bunch of those things."

"Knox, hit the spot light."

Joel slowed the Humvee to a stop and the side spot light sprung to life. It played across a vacant lot and suddenly a running woman was illuminated. Behind her lurched the drunken forms of a half dozen of the walking dead. She saw the stopped vehicles and changed direction towards them.

"Marines! Debark and cover her!"

Instantly, the Marines exited the Humvees and took up covering positions on both sides of the column. The woman saw the friendly human forms and ran faster towards them.

"Sir, what do you want us to do with the tangoes?"

"Take them down, but remember to conserve ammunition, and only head shots get us any points boys."

The Marines on the right side of the Humvees drew beads on the stumbling forms and put them all down easily with single shots to the heads. The farthest zombie was a mere hundred yards away and that distance was cake for the marksmanship of the Marines.

The woman finally reached the convoy and skidded to a stop at Joel's vehicle.

"Thank god you found me. I've been running from those things all night. Me and a group of my friends have been trying to get to St. Laurence, where everyone from town has been going, and we ran into a group of those things… We all got separated, and I haven't seen any of them since. That was at least an hour ago…"

Joel walked around the front of the Humvee and examined the woman more closely. As he rounded the hood and saw her face more clearly, the realization hit him.

"Julie! Is that you?"

Her eyes lit up as she struggled to see his face underneath the camouflage paint and combat gear.

"Joel! Joel yes it's me!"

She ran up to him and hugged him, deeply relieved that she had been saved, and deeply excited that she was seeing her old friend. They held each other in that embrace for a few moments too long, and a couple of the men began to whistle.

Joel immediately let her go and straightened out his gear that had been put astray by Julie's hug. He stepped back and looked her over again.

"It's good to see you again Julie, but right now we have to get you to safety. You said that people were congregating at St. Laurence? How many would you say are there?"

Julie's smile remained as bright as before as she responded.

"We'll before the television went off, there was an announcement that said there were police and medical personnel there and it was a safe point. My family and most others had already made it there. The town was pretty much deserted by the time my friends and I were heading there, then we were attacked. John I know is dead…"

Joel could tell that she was about to break into tears and would not have her be embarrassed before his Marines and so interrupted her.

"Ok mount up guys, we're heading to St. Laurence. Julie we'll have you back with your family in no time. You're in the best of company now, 1st squad of Marine Force Recon.

Julie's face brightened again as the Marines began getting back into the Humvees and Julie took shotgun in Joel's vehicle. Seconds later they were back underway towards St. Laurence in grid H, better known as Wheaton, Illinois. And minutes after that, they arrived at St. Laurence, pulling up before the school in crisp military style bound to impress anyone watching. Four police officers with shotguns stood behind two parked cruisers outside the main doors to the gymnasium, where Julie had said everyone was gathered.

The Marines parked their Humvees and strode up to the officers with Julie in tow. Joel was about to speak to them when an officer spoke first.

"Thank god, the Army is here!"

Joel stopped before them and smiled darkly, but with the white of his teeth contrasting brilliantly with the dark paint on his face.

"Yes sir, the Army is here, but we're not them. And be happier, we're Marines."

The officer looked slightly bewildered, not realizing his error. But Joel gave him no time to ponder and walked straight past him into the gymnasium.

"Everyone is inside already; we should all be inside too."

The Marines and Julie walked into the gym with the four officers close behind. Inside were more than a couple hundred people and at least a dozen more police officers. Joel quickly sized up the situation and remembered the layout of the school from his time there in the past.

"Julie have they made any major renovations or additions to this place since we graduated?"

"No, it's pretty much exactly how we left it."

"Ok, this is how I see it, we can't keep everyone in the gym, even though I would very much like to keep everyone in one place, so lets secure the entire gym, theatre, and hall/cafeteria areas. Officers, we'll start with securing those doors at the far side of this hall. My men will bring in what supplies we have from the Humvees and you get whatever you have in the patrol cars. Then we'll block off these doors here. Send some more of your men to secure all other entrances and exits to this school. I want it locked down tight. Do not miss a single thing, it may mean the lives of all these people here, including us. Do you all understand?"

The officers quickly agreed and complied with Joel's orders. Normally someone would contest authority but the national crisis had already been declared and martial law had been decreed across the land. Plus everyone in the gym was equally cowed and impressed by the fully combat dressed and armed Marines that stood before them.

"Hansen, take your team and unload the Humvees. Don't leave anything that might be of use. We don't know how long we might have to hold out here, so bring it all in. Then lock those things up tight and leave the keys in the gas doors. We don't know who might to use them, so everyone should be able to get to them."

Hansen and four other Marines moved quickly to carry out Joels orders and his team stood at attention behind him. He then turned to address the silent mob of civilians who stood, sat, and lay before him.

"Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, my name is Sergeant Joel Roscord, United States Marine Corps. We are here to protect you until an airlift can be facilitated to evacuate you all to a safe zone. Chances are we will be able to get supplies dropped into here immediately, but as to when Command will be able to get transport choppers in here to get you all out is anybody's guess. Hopefully within the next few days. But I assure you, until the transports arrive, my men and I, along with your local police force, will protect you and ensure your safety until you can be evacuated. And until then you will all be staying in here or in the theatre. I'm sorry but we're going to have to sacrifice privacy for safety. The locker rooms will be available to everyone for showers and daily hygiene needs and we will arrange for a system of means and rations from the cafeteria and supplies. Now at this point are there any questions?"

A large, overweight man in his forties spoke up.

"Yes, I've got a few. First of which, how exactly do you ten Marines and the twenty cops we have here expect to protect us against the armies of zombies outside?"

Joel sighed and placed his feet shoulder width apart while slinging his M-4 and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well first of all sir, we are Marines. We are the best trained fighters in the world. Which is precisely why Marines guard American embassies across the world."

"Well I've heard of our embassies falling to unruly mobs, how is this any different?"

"Well secondly sir, this is my hometown, and these are my people. And I'll be damned if I let any more of them fall to these walking dead. And if you're quite done sir, I think everyone, including the young children, have heard and seen enough for tonight."

The large man, whom Joel later found out to be George Bunse, sat down on the bleachers with a snide look on his face.

"Now if I could ask for all of your assistance, my men and I have a lot of work to do and would appreciate any help you could give us, so if there are any of you who can manage rationing of supplies and things of a logistical nature, we would like to speak to you now."

Joel and his four Marines moved off into a corner of the gym to speak with the leader of the Police contingent, Sergeant John McNimire. They had been speaking for several minutes about the defense of the school when Mrs. Sue Lyzinski, Joel's former teacher and mother of one of his best friends came up to them.

"Joel! How are you? What are you doing here? And what's going on out there?"

Joel immediately recognized his former teacher as she hugged him in greeting.

"Hi Mrs. L. I'm doing fine. We'll we're here to protect you all and make sure you make it safely to the college stadium that's where we're to bring everyone, all survivors are going there. It's being held by the 101st airborne and it's about as safe as anywhere. But until there we're here and we'll need help with the supplies."

Mrs. L smiled warmly and said, "Don't you worry about those. We'll take care of that accordingly, you just worry about keeping the peace around here, especially with folks like Bunse. Such a nasty character he is."

"Thanks Mrs. L. I'll keep him in mind. But we've got to go secure the school right now, so I will talk to you after."

Finally after about 3 hours of hard work, the school was locked tight against all possible attacks from outside. Everyone was inside and guards had been posted at the entrances. Joel and his Marines had set up observation posts on top of the gym, high above the trees and street level. They also set up their communication gear there and were in the process of appraising C&C of their situation and location. Joel was speaking with Commander Harrison and asking for an ETA for airlift when Johnson called to him from the north side of the roof.

"Sir, you'd best come see this."

Joel gave the headset back to Larson and walked to the battlements of the roof next to Johnson. Out in the night, illuminated by streetlights and moonlight, was an ocean of walking dead. Zombies covered the road and parking lot across the street. All were making slow, but undeniably progress towards the school, as if they somehow knew there was fresh meat to be had.

"Mother of god…"

To be continued…


	2. Not Living, but not Dead Either

A week had passed since the Marines had first arrived at St. Laurence and secured the school and all the civilian survivors inside. Seven days and still no airlift had arrived. Two supply drops had been made by Chinook helicopters, and Joel had wondered why the big, double rotor helicopters hadn't just taken out loads of civilians each time, but the moment they had dropped their cargo, the aircraft had taken off and whisked off into the sky on some other errand. The horde of zombies had since reached the school but was locked securely outside the building.  
  
The police guards had since been removed from the entrances after the zombies had failed to breach the blockades and everyone had pretty much settled into a routine of eating, sleeping, playing games, and doing whatever else they could to occupy their time. Many of the civilians had since found their way to the roof of the gym and enough attractive females would spend time sunning themselves to make watch duty a pleasure for the Marines.  
  
And in the first two days of the seige, Joel had met with no less than a dozen old friends, and at least four former lovers who all happened to be in town for the summer when the outbreak had occurred. The meetings with his friends had been all happy, good times, while the meetings with his lovers had been somewhat mixed in their results. Not because they hated him, but because they all experienced a renewed interest in him. Joel had been without a girlfriend for his entire career in the Corps so far, and was somewhat bewildered as to what he should do with all this attention. Not to mention the fact that most every female ages 13 to 40 found the Marines an incredibly attractive commodity and made every attempt to flirt with or bed one of them. Even the ones who were married or had boyfriends.  
  
Several of his men had gotten lucky already he knew, but some of the others were holding strong because of already being in relationships. And he himself tried desperately to direct the attention away from himself and keep focussed on his mission, which was to ensure the safety off all the civilians.  
  
Joel was sitting on the north battlement looking out over the parking lot and towards the road at all the zombies when a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"Hey there hot stuff..."  
  
Kristine, Joel's steady girlfriend throughout sophomore year, sauntered up behind him. Joel cringed on the inside but kept his demeanor level.  
  
"Uh, hi."  
  
She took a seat next to him and proceeded to start an endless stream of small talk that kept Joel occupied for the better part of fifteen minutes. Joel felt as if he were about to lose his mind when the radio crackled to life.  
  
"Mayday Mayday, is anyone out there?"  
  
Joel abruptly jumped up from the battlement and ran to the radio setup that Johnson was manning.  
  
"Attention unit, this is Romeo 1, who are you?"  
  
"Romeo 1, this is Romeo 4, we're Delta Force out of Bragg. We are on the run with eight civies. We've got several wounded and those things are hot on us. Can you help us out?"  
  
"That's a go. Where are you?"  
  
"We are coming down Main Street, heading towards... County Mark."  
  
"That's it, we are in St. Laurence High School right down Main. Keep coming and we'll be on the left side of the street. Now we'll be outside waiting for you, and we'll have to take you up to the roof because we're pretty much surrounded by zombies out here. Do you copy?"  
  
"That's a roger Romeo 1, I see the school now. But I don't see you."  
  
"I see you Delta, we'll be coming to you in a minute."  
  
Joel stood up from the radio strapping his vest shut.  
  
"Hansen! Get your team up, I need you to distract this mob down here, we gotta rescue a Delta squad. They're coming down Main. Hansen your men rope down the side here and occupy the zombies, but don't hit the ground. Stay up while we go and get Delta. Copy?"  
  
"Yes sir. Knox, give Sarge long range cover. Gregory and Baker, you're with me on the lines, lets move!"  
  
Joel didn't wait for Hansen to finish giving his team orders and sprung into motion. He began setting his rappelling line above the lower section of the school roof that lead all the way to Main Street. The rest of his team followed suit and once they finished, they jumped over the edge of the roof and down the wall.  
  
Simultaneously Hansen's team was slowly moving down the wall above the hoard of zombies yelling and screaming getting their attention. They all gradually began moving away from the street and towards the gym. Minutes later the entire zombie horde was concentrated outside of the gyms main doors trying to break in and vainly reaching up to the suspended Marines.  
  
Joel and his team were running along the school roof towards Main Street and saw the approaching the Delta squad and civilians. Several were limping badly or clutching wounds.  
  
"Double time it Marines."  
  
The Delta squad saw the running Marines and headed towards the end of the building, leading their civilian charges along. Once they reached the school, they began boosting up the civilians to the roof one at a time. They made painstakingly slow progress because some of the people were injured, and others were in too bad shape to easily reach the roof. After a few painstaking minutes, the entire group was safely up on the roof. Joel extended his hand to the lead Delta operator.  
  
"Gunnery Sergeant Joel Roscord, 1st squad Marine Force Recon."  
  
The operator smiled warmly and shook the offered hand.  
  
"First Sergeant Carlos Lobos, Army Delta Force. Thanks for the rescue. Do you have any sort of medical supplies here, because some of these people are hurt pretty bad."  
  
Joel responded loudly at first, "We certainly do, we'll get your people squared away once we get back to the gym." Then he whispered so only the Sergeant would hear, "Are any of these people infected, because if they are, we can't let them stay here as horrible as it sounds, because there are a couple hundred other civies in there who I have to protect."  
  
The Sergeant nodded grimly and said, "That young man over there, with the blonde hair," he then indicated a young blonde man wish a gash on his arm. "He was cut up by one of those things. Now as the briefings went, he'll only turn into one of those things when he dies, but they also said that the disease slowly kills the person, then turns them if their wounds aren't critical enough."  
  
Joel nodded and began directing everyone towards the gym.  
  
"What do you want to do with him? I can take him to a secluded room and put him down without anyone knowing."  
  
Lobos shook his dead slowly.  
  
"No, I'll do it. He was my charge, it's my responsibility."  
  
"Ok, we'll I'll lead you to the room, just bring him over now."  
  
Lobos whistled and got the young man's attention.  
  
"Hey Charlie, come over here, the Gunny here would like to take a look at your wound, he has some medical supplies below that should be able to help you."  
  
Joel nodded curtly at the young man and motioned them to follow him. They followed the rest of the people to the school roof entrance and all dropped in, but when Joel's Marines lead the survivors and Delta to the gym, Joel lead Carlos and Charlie into the school to the other side of the building. They went down some winding passages to an below ground locker room, farthest from the gym and other people. Then Carlos began to explain to Charlie.  
  
"Charlie you were bitten by one of those things right?"  
  
"Yes, it cut up my arm pretty bad."  
  
"Now you know how this all happens?"  
  
"No, what are those things."  
  
"Well the best I can explain it to ya, they're zombies. They come back from the dead to feed on the living, and when they don't completely eat their prey, which almost always happens, that person comes back as a zombie too. You weren't eaten, and you aren't dead yet, but they spread some sort of disease, and it's going to kill you Charlie. Pretty damn soon you will get sick and die, and then come back as one of those zombies, and right now there isn't a damn thing we can do to stop it. Do you understand me?"  
  
Charlie looked lost and confused, and far too young to be in this situation.  
  
"Charlie do you understand me?"  
  
He slowly nodded his head yes as tears began to form in his eyes.  
  
"Now we can offer you two options. One we can put you down right here, or two we can let you take your chances outside. We cannot let you inside with these other people though. Now it's your choice, so decide Charlie."  
  
Charlie thought quietly for a few minutes. Joel and Carlos did not wish to rush him, so they stood there silently, waiting for his answer. Then, Charlie wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up at Carlos.  
  
"I want you to kill me. I don't want to come back as one of those things and hurt other people. So I want you to kill me now."  
  
Carlos nodded his head.  
  
"We'll shoot you in the head Charlie, so that you won't become a zombie. You won't come back and hurt people. This is what you want?"  
  
Charlie nodded yes again, fresh tears welling up in his eyes.  
  
"Ok Charlie. Go stand facing that wall. I won't count or anything, I'll just do it. Understand?"  
  
"Yes. Thank you."  
  
"Charlie you are an incredibly brave man, and I'm sorry this had to happen to you."  
  
Charlie nodded and went and stood next to the white tile wall.  
  
Carlos clicked the safety off of his M-4 and sighted on the back of Charlie's head. He inhaled then exhaled slowly and squeezed the trigger. A single round tore through Charlie's skull and blood and brain splattered all over the wall. Charlie's body hung there for a moment, as if not realizing it was dead, then crumpled to the floor. A pool of blood spread silently across the tiles and slipped into a drain.  
  
Joel and Carlos stood silently for a few moments longer before Joel spoke up.  
  
"We can burn the body outside. Do you want to tell the rest of those civies that Charlie is dead? I don't know if any of them knew him."  
  
"No, it's ok. Charlie had already told me that his family was already dead. We had found him alone and brought him along. He was all alone."  
  
They were still staring at the body when Joel's squad radio crackled.  
  
"Gunny, you'd best get back here, the zombies are pounding against the gym doors even harder now, and it looks like they might give."  
  
"Copy, get everyone up and into the inner gym. Secure those doors and strengthen that barricade. But if they break through pull back into the gym."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Joel and Carlos sprung into a run, leaving Charlie's body there for now and headed back towards the gym. As they ran through the halls and closer to the main gym entrance doors they could hear the pounding of the zombies as well as they're undead moans. They reached the doors and found Hansen and six other Marines along with the Delta squad and police there, all weapons trained on the doors.  
  
"Sir, Baker and Knox are up top with the heavy weapons and explosives ready to take out the mob, but we're afraid to use them because we might destroy the barricades."  
  
"We'll we might as well because it seems like they're going to be destroyed anyway. Everyone clear out of this hall, Sergeant McNimire! I need you and your officers to get everyone out of the gym and up on the roof. That's the safest place for them to be right now. If we can't hold this area, then they'll be safe up there."  
  
"Right away sir."  
  
The police left and began herding all the civilians left in the gym up to the roof to join those already up there. Then the Marines and Delta went into the gym and secured the inner doors and prepared to repel the zombies attack.  
  
"Baker, Knox, you read me?"  
  
The two Marines responded over the radio, "Loud and clear Sarge, what do you want us to do?"  
  
"Use frags and clear this mob out. The inner doors are secure and you are clear to blow them to kingdom come. I don't want any of these zombies still standing."  
  
"Copy loud and clear Sarge."  
  
Moments later, the loud bangs of the antipersonnel grenades could be heard through the walls of the gym as they blew the zombies outside to pieces.  
  
Baker and Knox watched from above as zombie body parts flew everywhere and blood and gore covered the sidewalk and parking lot in front of the gym. Thirty seconds and ten frag grenades later, the zombie horde no longer existed. Only blood stains and body parts remained as evidence that anything ever used to be there.  
  
The Marines and Delta Force from the gym then joined everyone on the roof and surveyed the carnage. Buzzing conversation filled the rooftop and everyone seemed to settle down again after the near scare when a thought hit Joel.  
  
"Say Sergeant, why are you guys in this Grid? This was our sector to clear, and we only found one person on our way to here."  
  
"Well things aren't going so well Gunny. We were in Grid G and it had seemed clear, then this massive horde came out of nowhere and blocked off our exit. We couldn't get back to our Humvees and had to run. Then it seemed Grids J and C were completely overrun too, and hordes of zombies came from there and attack us as well. We could only go in this direction, and we were damn lucky to find you guys. If all those zombies keep going the way they were, they should be here sometime soon."  
  
"Damn, well I don't know how much longer we can hold out here against and even bigger zombie crowd. We need evac and airlift ASAP but C&C doesn't seem to be able to route the choppers here. They always got something else to do."  
  
"I believe it. We called in just for a small med-evac chopper and got denied. It seems the only things the choppers are doing is bringing troops in. Just the other day two more battalions of the 101st airborne were brought into the area. One to C&C and the other to that stadium safe point."  
  
Just then, the sound of helicopter rotors filled they're ears. A Blackhawk appeared over the horizon and approached the school. It then hovered above the gym roof and the crewchiefs signaled from the side windows that they needed a clearing. The Marines and Delta then ushered the civilians out of the way and cleared a spot on the roof for the helicopter to land. Four army medics jumped out and were reporting to Joel when a commotion broke out.  
  
Bunse had a knife to Julie's throat and was using her as a hostage to get to the chopper. Several police officers had pulled their pistols on him but he was using her as a shield and slowly backing up into the chopper.  
  
"Stay back, stay away or I swear I'll kill her right here. I'll slit her throat!"  
  
Joel and the others immediately drew their weapons and moved to intercept Bunse but he saw them and pressed the knife close to her neck.  
  
"Stop right there hero! If you come one step closer, or if any of you Special Forces dingoes try any shit with me, I'll kill her!"  
  
Bunse continued into the chopper with Julie still shielding him.  
  
"I'm getting out of here and none of you can stop me."  
  
Once he got on the chopper he motion for the pilots to take off. The pilot looked at Joel and shook his head. The chopper lifted off and swung into the air to the north. Inside, Bunse relieved a crew chief of his pistol and pressed that against Julie's head while telling the pilots to take him to a safe zone away from the outbreak.  
  
During this time, Bunse let his grip on Julie ease somewhat, and she elbowed him in the gut and sprung away. The two crew chiefs jumped him and attempted to wrestle away the pistol, but Bunse struggled and the gun went off, once, twice, three times. One of the stray shots struck something vital in the roof of the helicopter and a high pitch whine issued from the engines. Master Warning lights lit up on the control panels as smoke began to plume from the exhausts.  
  
The pilots struggled to regain control of the aircraft but it began losing altitude. It spiraled out of control, lower and lower before finally crash landing into the Walmart parking lot across Main Street. And right into the path of an approaching zombie horde. 


	3. To Save Another

People on the rooftop screamed when the chopper crashed, and even more screamed when they saw that the chopper crashed in front of approaching zombies. Joel looked on for a moment before acting.  
  
"Knox, set up here and start picking those things off. Keep them off that chopper. Carlos, do you have any snipers?"  
  
"Yes, Peppers! Set up and give the Marine a hand."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
The Marine and Delta snipers set up their rifles and began picking zombies off from over 800 yards away.  
  
"Hansen, we're taking the Humvees and we're going to get those people out of there. I'm not leaving anyone behind for those things to eat."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Medics, I'll need you to load the wounded and dead. I can't spare my men for that out there."  
  
The Marines reattached to the rappelling lines and began jumping over the side to the gym parking lot and they're parked Humvees. Joel then addressed Carlos once more.  
  
"I need you to stay here and watch over these people. If we don't make it, try to wait it out. Keep online for that airlift and get these people out of here."  
  
"You got it, and watch yourself out there."  
  
Joel nodded before launching himself over the edge of the roof and into peril. His Marines were already loading into the Humvees and preparing their weapons.  
  
"I want each .50 up, manned by a rifleman. I want as much firepower as possible ready to be deployed. We're going to form a triangle in front of that chopper and lay down crossing fields of fire to hold off those zombies while our medics load them into the Humvees."  
  
The three vehicles sped out of the parking lot and across the street. They ramped the curb and drove directly to the down chopper. Smoke billowed from the interior and a small fire burned around the canopy. The Humvees formed the V in front of the downed craft and Marines debarked and fanned out before them save for the three manning the .50's. The four medics ran to the chopper and began extricating bodies from the wreckage.  
  
"Fire at will!"  
  
Fully automatic fire blasted from the .50 caliber machine guns on the roof's of the Humvees and ripped zombies to pieces. Baker used his M249 SAW to a similar effect and was mowing down zombies left and right. Gregory launched a grenade from his M-4/203 combo and blew a cluster of zombies apart as Dell did the same. Hansen and Stanton where each putting zombies down with well placed rounds to the head while Johnson, Crisp, and Prince continued to blast away with the .50's.  
  
Joel had just blown another zombie's head apart when a medic came up and tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Sir, the girl in there, she's hurt real bad and pinned under part of the wreckage. I don't know if we can get her out."  
  
Joel knew he was talking about Julie and rushed to the chopper to see. Julie lay bleeding beneath a section of the roof which had collapsed on her and pinned her to the floor. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth while her eyes locked onto Joel's.  
  
"J-J-Joel..."  
  
He kneeled down beside here and held her hands in his.  
  
"Shh... you're going to be alright Julie. You're going to be fine. You just hold on now, do you hear me? I'm going to get you out of here, and we're going to get you patched up just fine."  
  
Julie coughed and a gob of blood spattered the floor of the chopper.  
  
"I'm not going to make it... am I?"  
  
"No, you hold on girl. You are going to make it. By my god in heaven you are going to make it!"  
  
She grinned slightly and coughed again.  
  
"You were always the optimist Joel..."  
  
Julie then went into a fit of coughing and then lay still. Her eyes closed and she did not breathe again.  
  
Joel's adrenaline peaked and he grunted and lifted the collapsed section off of her body. He looked down at her crushed body and saw the knife jutting from her side. His eyes watered and the world turned crimson before him. He whirled around and saw Bunse leaning against the rear bumper of a Humvee, trying to avoid his gaze.  
  
"YOU BASTARD!"  
  
Joel rushed Bunse and before the large man could react, threw a monstrous right hook into his jaw. Bunse's eyes closed and he collapsed from the impact. But before he hit the ground Joel was on him again and he was lifted up, his large feet completely clearing the ground.  
  
"I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!"  
  
Joel wrapped his hands around Bunse's neck and was strangling him when a medic called out to him.  
  
"Wait sir, she's still alive! We need to get her back to the gym immediately, I need the supplies there. She's got heavy injuries and if we don't attend to her soon, she really will die."  
  
Joel released Bunse and let him fall to the ground gasping for air. He helped the medic lift Julie's limp form into the back of a Humvee then got in the drivers seat.  
  
"Mount up Marines, we're heading back. Cease fire."  
  
Simultaneously the Marines stopped firing, and the snipers back on the roof held their fire as well. The three Humvees began to roll out when Hansen called to Joel.  
  
"What about Bunse sir?"  
  
"Leave him."  
  
The Marines drove off without looking back and returned to the safety of the gym. Joel carried Julie inside while the medics and Marines loaded the wounded crew inside and Hansen and Gregory re-secured the Humvees. Across the street, Bunse screamed as the zombies closed in on him and tore him to pieces. There were far too many zombies for even a fat man like Bunse to remain uneaten and he was completely consumed. Only bones and ragged bits of flesh remained. Upon finishing their meal, the zombies seemed to lose focus and milled about aimlessly in the Walmart parking lot.  
  
On the roof of the gym in a makeshift medical tent, the two medics attended to Julie meticulously under the watchful eye of Joel. They paid careful attention to every detail having seen Joel's wrath and not wishing to invoke such a powerful response themselves. After nearly an hour and a half of incomprehensible ministrations, the lead medic reported to Joel.  
  
"We've managed to stabilize her condition and we gave her a transfusion of blood to replace what she lost. There is no internal bleeding, and near as we can tell her no internal organs were damaged. We stitched her wound, but she does have several broken ribs. We've set those as best we can and she should be fine in a few weeks. Her overall mobility will be down for a while, but she should be fine. I've given her some antibiotics to make sure the wound doesn't get infected, and after she rests, she'll be perfectly ok."  
  
"Thank you very much Corporal. She means a lot to me."  
  
"Yes sir, I can tell."  
  
Joel smiled before asking the medic, "How are the rest of the crew?"  
  
"The two pilots are fine, one broke a finger and the other has a bruised testicle, don't ask me how that happened, and the two crew chiefs are in the best shape of anyone. Perfectly ok."  
  
"That's great news. Thank you for all your hard work Corporal, I don't know what we would have down without you and your men and supplies."  
  
"Its no problem sir, we gonna attend to the Delta wounded now, they got mostly some superficial wounds, bruises and abrasions. Do any of your men have any wounds?"  
  
"Well you can ask them, but they should all be in top shape."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
The medic went about his duties on the rooftop with his companions, administering to wounds and any complaints the civilians had. Joel went over towards where Julie was laying and sat by her side for a few moments while waiting for things to calm down. He unclipped his helmet and pulled it off his head. He sat for a moment longer and rubbed his scalp relieving tension.  
  
He looked at sleeping form and sighed when Hansen walked up to him.  
  
"Sarge, we did a check on our supplies and ammo. We're running low on food for all these people, and we're down a couple hundred rounds on the 50.'s. But we're lucky that we've been holding off on really engaging these things, we're still ok for ammo for the small arms. And even better we have enough explosives to level this entire school if we wanted to."  
  
Joel cracked a smile.  
  
"Outstanding. Go ahead and radio C&C for another supply drop, since that seems to be the only thing they can give us. And ask for an evac too, but we already know the answer."  
  
"Yes sir. We're sorry we can't redirect airlift to you right now, but we will get you evacuated as soon as possible. Is there anything else you need?"  
  
Joel and Hansen both laughed and Hansen moved off to the radio set, leaving Joel to his thoughts. Hours passed and eventually civies began filing back inside to the gym to sleep or eat. Joel remained at Julie's side all the while, sitting and staring off into space. Gregory and another Delta operator remained on watch but gave him a wide berth and allowed him the privacy he needed.  
  
Joel was daydreaming when a familiar voice interrupted his reverie.  
  
"Hey hot stuff, I thought you might be hungry so I brought you some soup."  
  
Joel turned and saw Kristine sauntering over with a cup of steaming soup in her hands.  
  
"Geez, thanks. You really didn't have to. That's just too nice of you."  
  
He gratefully accepted the soup, but somewhat less gratefully accepted Kristine's company as she sat down next to him.  
  
"So that was really brave of you today, going after them like that. You're a hero."  
  
"It's my job. If you didn't notice, all my Marines went out after those people today because it's all of our jobs. This is what we do. It's our mission to protect you all. If it were you out there, you could be damned sure that all of us would be out there too, doing our best to get you back to safety."  
  
"That's sweet. I wish I had a boyfriend like you again. You always knew how to make a girl feel special. So is there anyone special for you now?"  
  
"Uh, no. I've been going it alone pretty much since I got in the Corps. And I just made Recon last year, so I have been really busy and had no time for a relationship. It's all just training and more training."  
  
"Aww, that's so sad... I think you need a girlfriend. Hey, since we've broke up, have you ever thought about me? I mean, I've thought about you, a lot more recently. I never really meant to hurt you when I dumped you, it was just something I hadda do ya know?"  
  
"Uh yah, I understand. It's fine don't worry about it. No hard feelings right? So we're good now. I just gotta go and hit the shower and clean up before lights out. Later Kristine."  
  
Joel stood up before she could say another word and walked to the entrance door. He headed downstairs and into the men's locker room. Once inside he quickly stripped off his combat gear and BDU's and headed for the shower. Then he let the hot water run over him and wash away his sweat and the soreness in his body.  
  
When he finished and went back out into the gym and the lights were out and most everyone was asleep. As usual there were still a few hushed conversations going on courtesy of the teenagers lying around in groups and Joel nodded at the police officers who were standing watch over the slumbering mass of people. In a fresh set of BDU's and cleanly shaven, he walked back up the stairs to the roof and the medical tent.  
  
The night sky was clear and the stars were brightly shining in the darkness. The moon alone was enough to illuminate the surrounding area almost as well as in the daylight and Joel sat on the roof and looked out at the land. The pale white light and shadows cast a beautiful, almost surreal halo over the landscape. Joel fell asleep on the roof, looking out at the town.  
  
The sound of a chopper hovering close woke Joel from his slumber and he looked up to see a Chinook above the school. Not just one this time, but several. Six of the extra large cargo choppers were hovering in the air above the gym and the radio blared next to Johnson.  
  
"Romeo 1, Romeo 1, this is Echo 4. We are your evac and are ready of land and load the civies. Can you clear a zone for use?"  
  
"Roger than Echo 4, damned good to hear from you. We'll have an LZ clear in a minute."  
  
"Copy Romeo 1. Standing by."  
  
"Lets go Marines, lets clear an area. We're getting out of here! Carlos! Can you round up the civies and separate them into groups suitable for load into a Chinook."  
  
"We're on it, Delta lets move!"  
  
The Delta operators bolted down the entrance stairs and began rounding up the civilians. They were quick to comply once they heard they were being evacuated. The Delta squad and the police quickly corralled them into groups of forty and set them in order against the wall to wait for their turn to load.  
  
"First group, follow me. We're going to come up and approach the rear of the chopper and load through the big ramp in the back. You can't miss it. Let's go."  
  
The first group was ushered up the stairs and loaded the first chopper. It took off and flew to the west. Joel signaled the second chopper down and loading continued this way for another half hour until all of the civilians were gone and there was still room on the last chopper.  
  
"Sergeant, you can put as many of you're officers on the chopper as you can, the rest of us are going to have to go back in convoy."  
  
"Well we have enough vehicles with us, we can all go with you, there's safety in numbers."  
  
"If you want, this is the last chance to get on that chopper."  
  
"No sir, it wouldn't feel right leaving you all behind."  
  
"You're a far braver man than I sergeant."  
  
Joel waved the crew chief of the chopper and he went back into the ramp and shut it. The pilot waved at them from the cockpit and the chopper rose into the air and then was gone.  
  
"Well, I guess we'd best get going. Gather up whatever supplies are left in here and load them into the vehicles. My Humvees will lead and Delta can hitch rides with us. We'll want as much firepower up front as possible if we run into any trouble. Let's double time it."  
  
The thirty plus men rushed into action, collecting medical supplies and ammunition and storing them in the vehicles. Ten minutes later, the convoy was assembled in the parking lot and ready to move out. All the men loaded into their vehicles and moved out.  
  
Minutes later they were speeding down the road heading towards the college stadium. And a minute after that, they ran into a major roadblock. Zombies filled the street from building to building.  
  
Author's note: Please review my story, it's my first and I would like to hear what you have to say on it. 


	4. Down in the Third

"Sir, I don't think we can get through them. There's too many..."  
  
Joel stared in awe at the hundreds upon hundreds of zombies that milled about in the street before them. The sheer number of them was staggering, and his little unit did not have the firepower or vehicles to get through them. Their only choice was to turn around.  
  
"Ok boys, let's get this convoy turned around, we're gonna have to take a different route..."  
  
"Um, Sergeant, I think that's a negative on that different route, look to our six o'clock."  
  
Joel shifted his gaze to the rear of the convoy and swore. A separate horde of zombies had appeared and even now was closing off their exit. Joel saw the desperate need for them to move so acted instantly.  
  
"Everyone get your vehicles turned around! We need to blow through those zombies before they mass in the street and block us off. It's our only chance, shoot them down if you can, run them over if you can't. Go now!"  
  
A moment later, the Humvees and police cruisers were all desperately maneuvering to turn around and head in the other direction. Already the zombie mass was thickening and it was questionable whether or not the convoy would be able to break through. Had the Humvees been in the lead, they might have made it. But the police cruisers were ahead and tearing rampantly into the zombies.  
  
Officers hung out the windows trying to shoot as many of the zombies in their path as possible, but there were too many, and the shotguns the police carried proved inadequate in mowing down large numbers of stumbling zombies.  
  
The Marines and Delta operators similarly hung out of their windows, and were using their automatic weapons to a greater effect. And the .50 caliber Ma Deuce's on the tops of the Humvees reaped a savage tally on the zombies, but were held in check by the Marines for fear of hitting the squad cars ahead of them.  
  
Seconds after the initial charge, the squad cars' progress through the crowd immediately slowed as more and more zombies spilled out into the street in front of them. One cruiser, an SUV, continued to plow through the zombies like the Humvees, but the other two Chevy Impalas were slowed and eventually stopped. The convoy had been broken up and the lone SUV charged ahead while the Marines stopped the Humvees by the stalled cruisers to pick up the officers.  
  
"Let's go! Debark and create a perimeter! Clear these bastards out and load those officers, we need to get out of here!"  
  
The Humvees formed a circle around the two patrol cars and the Marines and Delta got out to provide covering fire for the officers. Eight officers got out of the squad cars and ran to the nearest Humvee while the Marines and Delta tried vainly to keep the zombies at bay. Closer and closer the zombie advanced, many of their number falling to the devastating firepower of the soldiers and Marines, but not nearly enough to halt their stumbling walk.  
  
Already the zombies had closed to within twenty feet of the circle and were advancing still when Joel looked past them to see the progress of the other police car. It too had been stopped and was swarming with zombies. Gunfire exploded from within, blasting zombie off the body of the SUV and two officers tried to climb out onto the roof. One made it, but the other was pulled from the vehicle when he slid out the window. He was dragged to the ground screaming and covered in zombies seconds later.  
  
The last officer stood on the roof of the SUV and fired into the horde surrounding him. A zombie would attempt to climb onto the roof and he would shoot it, sending it plunging back into the mass below. But after about thirty seconds, his shotgun was silent and he dropped it to the roof. He un-holstered his pistol and began firing randomly at zombies while screaming in fear.  
  
The zombies swarmed onto the car and brought the screaming officer down, devouring him on the roof of the SUV. Joel shook his head and continued firing at the zombies near him.  
  
"Carlos, we've got to get out of here. And there's no way we can drive through them, they'll just swarm us like that."  
  
"Yeah, but we've got to do something quick, or they'll just swarm us anyway!"  
  
One of the big .50 cals on the lead Humvee stopped firing.  
  
"Gunny, this one's out of ammo!"  
  
Baker, on the other .50 on the second Humvee yelled, "I'm running low too Sarge!"  
  
"Johnson, get on the radio and tell C&C we need and airlift or an airstrike, right now. Tell them right goddamn now or we're finished!"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
Johnson raised the Command Center and tried to call in air support while everyone around him tried to buy them time.  
  
The zombie crowd that had initially blocked the convoy's path had been attracted to the fray and was now threatening to overrun the backside of the circle. On both ends, zombies closed in on the small circle of men.  
  
"Sarge! These guys are almost on me!"  
  
Closer and closer still the zombie got, the Marines and Delta and remaining officers could not, it seemed, even put a dent in their number. The horde seemed undiminished and now zombies had reached the northernmost Humvee and began crawling over its hood.  
  
"Gregory! Get the hell out of there!"  
  
The Marine leaped to comply and abandoned his position behind the .50 cal which had just run out of ammunition. He sprinted back to the inner circle which had compressed against the south side of the ring of Humvees.  
  
"Form two lines each way! First line fires then second line fires when the first reloads. Pour it on, or we won't survive to get airlifted out!"  
  
"Sir, C&C says a Blackhawk is on the way."  
  
"A BLACKHAWK? How the hell do they think we're all going to fit on a single fucking Blackhawk?"  
  
The Marines and Delta formed the four lines and the officers moved to the sides to protect their flanks. Zombies were pushing past the northern Humvee and were beginning to cross the southern as well. All three .50 cals were silent now, and all the Marines and Delta were firing with deadly accuracy with their rifles.  
  
The piles of zombie bodies were growing, almost building walls in front of the desperate men. This slowed the advance, but did not stop it. Wretched, rotten forms crawled and staggered over other, broken and rotting forms that lay limply before them in spreading pools of filth.  
  
Joel looked above but saw no sign of the helicopter. His apprehension grew as he saw one of the police officer's fire getting increasingly haphazard. His shotgun shells were striking the police car in front of him more than any zombies and Joel was about to reprimand him when Murphy struck the battlefield.  
  
A stray shell ricocheted off the concrete and struck the gas tank of the car. Fuel began leaking out of the tank and followed the downhill gradient of the street to beneath the northern Humvee. Another stray shot from the shocked officer set the fuel ablaze which in turn spread fire to the police car and the Humvee.  
  
The fire spread and damaged the cars, but didn't seem to be too much of a danger until it strayed too close to a stick of C4 which had been misplaced in the rush to leave St. Laurence and knocked out onto the street. He heat and fire ignited the volatile compound and sent and explosion ripping through the Humvee which ignited another five pounds of C4. The resulting explosion obliterated most of the zombies north of the defending Marines and Delta, but it also wiped out most of the northern line of defenders while knocking down the rest along with all the other zombies in the street.  
  
Joel rose dazedly a minute later, trying to clear his head from the pounding in his ears. A few of his Marines staggered to their feet while three Delta operators and a single surviving police officer got up. The rest lay dead on the ground.  
  
He took stock of the dead and noted, disheartened, that Hansen, Carlos, Baker, Gregory, Knox, Pierce, and Stanton were dead. Altogether there were only eight survivors from an original group of thirty-five men.  
  
Though the humans got up quickly, the zombies did not, and the first had barely made it to its knees when the Blackhawk appeared in the sky. It came down the wide street and touched down to the north of the survivors where the space was clearest because of the explosion. The crew chiefs signaled them to hurry as the zombies were stirring again.  
  
"We're not leaving them behind for those things. Who's got a thermite grenade?"  
  
"I got two sir..."  
  
"Torch the bodies, let's move!"  
  
Crisp pulled the pins on both his grenades and waited for everyone to get clear before rolling them into the pile of bodies. Then he turned and ran for the chopper as the thermite grenades went off, vaporizing most of the remains and setting the rest on fire to burn away. In the chopper, Joel gave the blazing pile a quick salute and watched the flames rise as the chopper lifted off.  
  
"Damn those things..."  
  
Ten minutes later the chopper set down inside the college stadium and let the survivors out. Then it took off again, following up on some other mission. The survivors stepped down, charred and soiled, in stark contrast to the freshly uniformed Rangers who greeted them.  
  
"Goddamn, looks like you've been through hell."  
  
Joel just looked vacantly at the Ranger as he walked past to report to the CO of the safe zone. His three remaining Marines followed loyally behind and the Delta operators followed suit. The officer looked up and found everyone gone and wandered about confused.  
  
Joel limped into the command tent, looking every bit as tired as he felt for having been in the field for more than a week. His face was blacked past its usual dark color from the explosion, and blood seeped from a shrapnel wound on his arm. But he walked into the tent none the less and saluted the Army colonel sitting behind a fold out table covered with papers.  
  
"Sir, Gunnery Sergeant Joel Roscord, reporting from Grid H, Sector 32. I also have the survivors from a Delta unit sir, Grid G."  
  
The three Delta operators stepped forward and saluted the colonel.  
  
"Good job out there Gunny, I heard your unit facilitated the evacuation of more than two hundred civilians. That's excellent work. You and your men will receive commendations for this."  
  
Joel signed inwardly at the empty promise. It was empty because first of all, Joel knew that it would never happen, but most importantly because medals and citations didn't mean anything to the men he had lost.  
  
"Sir, with all due respect, most of my men are lying dead on the road. We burned they're bodies because we couldn't carry them out on the one chopper, and because we don't leave our own behind."  
  
"I understand your feelings Sergeant, and I'm sorry to have come off as being too condescending. I appreciate the sacrifice you and your men made, and this country appreciates it. Those civies out there appreciate it. And once this disaster is over, they will all know about it. You have my word."  
  
"My men don't need the recognition sir, there are hundreds of Marines and soldiers doing the same thing across the country, it's the job. I'm sorry I'm bitter about my men sir, but they were my responsibility, and I'm just a bit touchy right now."  
  
The colonel nodded appreciatively.  
  
"I understand Sergeant. Well you men are all due for some downtime, so go get chow and hit a rack. Rest up, we'll been needing you soon enough. For the time being, I'm consolidating the seven of you into one unit. We're not going to get any reinforcements for a while now, so we'll have to make due with what we've got. Dismissed."  
  
Joel and the others all saluted and waited for the colonel to return the salute before wheeling about and exiting the tent. Once outside they looked about for a moment, searching for a chow line and a place to hang up their helmets for a moment and put up their feet and sleep.  
  
Author's note: Please review, let me know any ideas you have, anything you'd like to see and I'll see if I can fit it into the story somehow. 


	5. Bittersweet Victory

Johnson spotted the chow line and nodded towards it.  
  
"There's chow Gunny, do you want anything?"  
  
"Yah, I'll get some later, I want to visit the med tent."  
  
"Ok, we'll wait for you over there."  
  
The three Marines and three Delta operators moved off to the chow line to get food, then they sat down near a group of eating rangers and had their dinner.  
  
Joel walked through the huddle groups of people and tents looking for the medical tent. After about ten minutes of wandering, he saw the large Red Cross on a white background and headed for the open flaps of the tent. Once inside, he was confronted by a young nurse who seemed to appear from nowhere.  
  
"Can I help you sir? Are you injured?"  
  
"No Mam, I'm looking for an injured civilian, she should have been brought here, by the name of Julie Masterson. Is she here?"  
  
"I can check sir, but you really shouldn't be in here."  
  
"I understand Mam, I'll be out of your hair in a minute, I've just got to make sure she's ok."  
  
The nurse's expression softened as she looked into Joel's dark eyes and saw the compassion and worry burning there.  
  
"Very well, just a minute though. Follow me please."  
  
The nurse lead Joel to the back of the tent where Julie lay, an IV hooked into her arm, and respirator tubes in her nose.  
  
"We had to put her on the respirator because she was having trouble breathing because of her ribs. I'll leave you alone now, but you must promise me Sergeant, that you will only stay a minute and let her rest. Otherwise I will call the MP's and have you arrested."  
  
Joel smiled at the adamant nurse and nodded his head.  
  
"Yes Mam."  
  
The nurse nodded back and walked away, leaving Joel with Julie. He walked up to the side of the bed and looked into her face. There was a bruise on her forehead and a few small cuts here and there, but otherwise, her face was still bright and had the angelic look he had remembered from before. Julie had always been a good friend to Joel, and throughout high school, he had always had a mild crush on her. But she seemed to be the one who always got away, and they had never dated. But she had written to him regularly when he joined and she went off to school, and so their friendship had remained strong.  
  
He reflected on their past relationship as he stood and watched her face, looking for any signs of her waking up. The latest letter he had received from her was about a month ago, and it had been filled with joy and excitement because she had received her doctorate in physical therapy. One of her goals was to work with famous athletes in the future, and it seemed like she was well on her way. Regularly his responses to her bright, uplifting letters would be clipped descriptions of the operation he was participating if he could, and usually boring explanations of the training they were performing.  
  
He felt as if their relationship was sort of a one way street. She provided him with a window back to the world he left behind, and kept him going knowing what he was protecting by fighting enemies abroad. He did not know what he provided for her, or what she could possibly get out of the boring letter about storming a funhouse, shooting wooden targets. But unbeknownst to him, Julie could hardly ever wait to get a new letter from Joel.  
  
While she gave him a small taste of life back home, he gave her a taste of freedom. She idolized his action of breaking out of the common routine of going to college after high school. She saw him as being a daring, outgoing figure, something she dearly wished she could be. She wished she had had the courage to do something wild, and unendorsed like that. Her parents would have killed her if she had done something like joining the Marines.  
  
But it was not much different for Joel. His parents had strongly disapproved of his decision to join the Marines right after school, and had virtually stopped talking to him since. They hadn't even come to his graduation, even though he had earned highest honors in his class.  
  
Joel blinked a tear away from his eye as he saw Julie stirring from her sleep. Her eyes opened slowly and looked around before focussing on Joel above her. She recognized him and smiled.  
  
"Hey kid, how you doin?"  
  
"Ugh... I feel like a building fell on me."  
  
"Well, a helicopter landed on you. Not to mention the jackass Bunse stuck a knife in your side."  
  
"Really? I don't remember anything after the helicopter started going down."  
  
"Yah, it was ugly. We found you inside and a big chunk of Blackhawk was pinning you down."  
  
"Ah yes, I remember that now. You came inside and told me I would be fine. That I was going to make it. And I didn't believe you."  
  
"Yah see, you just gotta trust me."  
  
Julie snickered as she remembered from before.  
  
"You used to lie all the time. Nobody believed a word you said."  
  
"Well that's not my fault. I just did what I did because I was good at it."  
  
"Liar."  
  
Joel smiled and looked her over again.  
  
"Well we're in the stadium now. As safe as can be. There are hundreds of soldiers here to protect you."  
  
She blinked. Then looked around and seemed to notice for the first time she was in the medical tent.  
  
"Where are all your men? Off with the ladies getting lucky?"  
  
Joel cringed inwardly, but showed no change outside.  
  
"Yah, I'm sure they're around here somewhere, getting into all sorts of trouble."  
  
"Yah. You Marines are all so hot and all the women love you. I'm surprised you still don't have a girl. What's keeping you? Waiting for a special someone?"  
  
Joel snickered and shook his head.  
  
"Naw, you know me, girls don't really like me. I always get into trouble."  
  
"Liar, you had like five girlfriends during high school."  
  
"So I used up all my luck. I'm pretty much done."  
  
Julie laughed, but pain flared up from her broken ribs and she started coughing and holding her side.  
  
"See, look what I've done now. Always causing trouble. I'm gonna leave you alone now kid. Just get some rest ok?"  
  
Julie nodded and smiled.  
  
"Goodbye."  
  
Joel shook his head and looked reprovingly at Julie.  
  
"Who says goodbye? I'll see you later."  
  
Joel then walked out of the tent, winking at the nurse who had helped him earlier, eliciting a small smile from the young woman. He reached his new combined unit who were still eating and conversing lightly. As he sat down, Johnson handed him a plate with what looked like rice and beans, and some sort of meat stew on it.  
  
"How are you men doing. I guess introductions are in order since we are working together now. I am Gunnery Sergeant Joel Roscord. And I'll let my men introduce themselves."  
  
"I'm Lance Corporal Tim Johnson. Communications specialist."  
  
"Private, First Class, John Crisp. Rifleman, CQB expert."  
  
"And finally last but not least, I'm Private Charlie Dell, Grenadier."  
  
The Delta operators all smiled and shook hands with the Marines. Then they moved to introduce themselves. The tallest one stood up, a massive man, well over six foot seven.  
  
"Lance Corporal Peter Townsend. But y'all can just call me Petey if you like. We didn't much care for rank nip and tuck in our squad, but I don't know how you run it Gunny."  
  
"That's just fine Petey, I don't much care either, so long as you call me Gunny, or well, Gunny. Sarge will fit too, and most anything else so long as you know I'm top kick."  
  
The group chuckled and continued.  
  
"That's affirmative Gunny. I'm Private Chris Simple. And I'm a CQB specialist as well."  
  
"Yah, and we all call him Teddy Bear. Because he's about as dangerous as one Gunny. This kid wouldn't hurt a fly if it shot him in the leg."  
  
The Marines and other Delta laughed and the operators threw pieces of food at Teddy.  
  
"Shut up Jonesy. You're no fun telling them that, I thought I had a chance to start over new, with a new unit."  
  
"Well you do Teddy, and we now have the chance to call you Teddy. I've never had a Teddy in my unit before, so this is a new experience for me."  
  
The group laughed again and Teddy smiled as well. The last Delta operator stood up and bowed.  
  
"I am Private Jim Jones. And most call me Jonesy. I'll be your courtesy comedian and resident Corpsman. If you've got a wound or an owwie, you come see me and I'll patch your sissy Marine selves up just fine."  
  
More laughing ensued and all the Marines threw food at Jones, forcing him to sit down. Joel laughed and reveled at the spirit of these men, these soldiers and Marines. Together they shared a bond of fighting men that were serving their country, protecting the people they loved even if they were a thousand miles away. Just an hour ago, they had all nearly died, and lost most of their teammates and friends. Most men would have broken and given up, but not these men.  
  
These few men were the best of the best, and they exemplified it in their indomitable spirit. Nothing would slow them down, nothing could stop them from carrying out their mission because to them, it meant failing their teammates and their honor. These few would never quit.  
  
And Joel felt extreme pride at being able to fight with them, even if it meant dying with them. He looked at each of their laughing faces and remembered one of his men that had died that day, and remembered the sacrifice they had made. He realized then what he had thought all along, that he would die defending his country and its people, but now he might also die in his hometown, defending the people that he knew and loved.  
  
This was a more direct gratification that Joel knew most fighting men did not get. Most died on foreign soil, and their family back home never knew or understood the sacrifice they made. But Joel's would. And his elation at this simple fact grew ten fold when he saw his own family emerge from a tent down the row.  
  
"Alright boys, now we all know each other, so bed down and try to get some rest. I don't know when we'll get our next mission orders, and I don't know what they might be, but when they come, we'll be ready."  
  
The group responded in chorus, "Yes sir."  
  
Joel stripped off his combat vest and laid his M-4 down on it.  
  
"Watch my gear Johnson."  
  
"But Sarge, how can I watch it if I'm s'posed to be resting?"  
  
Johnson snickered and closed his eyes, and the rest of the group laughed and followed suit.  
  
"Lazy bastards..."  
  
Joel picked up his vest and his rifle and put them back on before walking towards the tent his family was in. He pushed the flap aside and peered into the interior. Inside his sister was sitting on a cot, feeding her baby daughter.  
  
"Hey Tess, how's my little niece?"  
  
The three year old girl's eyes lit up as she saw her uncle and she immediately reached out for him to pick her up.  
  
"JOEL! Oh my god, how did you get here?"  
  
Joel picked up his niece and held her up to his face as he responded, "I was deployed here last week to secure survivors. We only got to the safe zone today. It took a while for them to evacuate all the civilians we had found."  
  
The little girl giggled and pinched her uncle's nose. She tried to poke him in the eye and drooled on his vest.  
  
Tess stood up and hugged her brother as he continued to play with his niece.  
  
"How's my little Trish doing? How are you?"  
  
Trish smiled and said, "I'm happy uncle... you want to play ball?"  
  
"Yeah sure kiddo, in just a minute."  
  
He set her down and she ran off into the corner of the tent to fetch her ball. Joel then looked around and asked Tess, "Where did Ma and Pa go?"  
  
Tess shrugged as she replied, "I think they went to get some food. Or look for someone, I think they were going to ask if you were around, because they had heard that the Marines were here."  
  
Joel stared at her for a moment and was about to say something when the PA system in the stadium blared to life.  
  
"All combat personnel, report to the staging area! All combat personnel, report to the staging area! We have an emergency situation."  
  
Joel looked at Tess and said, "Ok, keep in this tent. I'll be back later, make sure  
  
that when Ma and Pa get back, they stay in this tent. Do not leave unless something absolutely drastic is happening."  
  
Tess nodded as Joel clicked on his radio and headed out of the tent.  
  
"Johnson, get the guys up. We need to get to the staging area pronto."  
  
"We're already heading there Gunny, we'll meet you there."  
  
"Good. See you in a minute."  
  
Joel reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a fresh magazine for his rifle and slammed it home. He pulled the charging handle and clicked the safety off, assuming the worst. And unfortunately for himself and everyone else in the stadium, he was right.  
  
Automatic weapons fire rattled the air from the southern portion of the stadium. Streaming out of the opponent locker room, came dozens of then undead. Rangers fired desperately into the swarm, trying to stem the tide of zombies rushing into the once safe haven.  
  
Only a dozen of the airborne soldiers were around the breach when it occurred, and already, Joel could see a couple of them being pulled down by the ravenous creatures.  
  
"My guys! Lets go! Those rangers need a hand."  
  
The remainder of his squad joined him, and Joel rushed headlong to the aid of the beleaguered soldiers. But even as he approached a firing position, Joel could see that it was too little, too late.  
  
"God help us..." 


	6. Cashing the Chips

Joel quickly sighted on the nearest zombie threatening a ranger and fired. The round cleanly penetrated the front of the zombie's face then tore the entire backside of the head away. He did not wait for the zombie to fall before targeting and eliminating another zombie threat and another after that. His squad followed suit and they struggled together to fold back the advancing zombie line.  
  
Only four of the original dozen rangers remained and Joel saw that they were quickly going to be overwhelmed. He ran forward, firing as he went, and reached the nearest of the rangers.  
  
"Pull back! Rally reinforcements behind us for an immediate counter attack! We need to drive these bastards back out of this stadium or we're all dead. Go!"  
  
The ranger jumped to comply and immediately left to bring more of the airborne soldiers into the battle. Joel and his squad continued pouring fire into the horde and on his command, primed frag grenades and hurled them into the hapless zombies.  
  
Gore splattered the ground as dozens of the undead disappeared into red mists. Joel ad hoc squad was just barely holding the defensive line against the zombies until the rangers returned in force and added their massed firepower to the fray.  
  
The zombie attack disintegrated altogether under the withering assault and turned into a rout in the humans' favor. Three Humvees and two M1 Abrams tanks appeared on the scene and finished the skirmish, pushing into the breach to re-secure the stadium.  
  
All the soldiers followed the vehicles into the gap and made the stadium safe again. Joel and his men stood down and let the rangers secure the breach. He looked sadly at the bodies of the fallen rangers and the cleanup crews that were going about sterilizing the bodies by shooting them in the head.  
  
"Let's head to the armory. I'm pretty much out of ammo."  
  
The Delta operators and Marines followed their leader to the makeshift armory in the center of the stadium and began loading their vests and pockets with more magazines and grenades. They did so quietly, scarcely speaking except when absolutely necessary.  
  
They had just finished restocking when an Army Lieutenant came into the tent.  
  
"Sergeant Roscord, the Colonel wants to see you in his office immediately."  
  
Joel nodded and signaled his men to stand down and await his return. He then immediately left the weapons tent and headed straight for the Command tent. Once there he came to attention and saluted the seated officer. The Colonel made a vague gesture with his hand and Joel stood at ease.  
  
"Very good work today Sergeant. Your quick response undoubtedly saved the lives of all the people in this stadium. But we need you to do it again. We've discovered that the zombies had originally gotten in through an underground tunnel system. We're going to need you to head down into the tunnels and secure the entrance they are using. Once you accomplish that, we can send down ranger teams to search and destroy whatever zombies remain in the complex. But until then, we can't spare them to go into the tunnels and reduce our defense. I hate to have to use you right after the mission you pulled off, you and you're men deserve rest, but you're the only special forces I have at my disposal at the moment. All the other teams are off in the city, or have been wiped out."  
  
The Colonel stood up and moved towards a map mounted on a stand to the side of his desk. He looked at it for a moment, as if deciphering the various colored markings and slashes and circles made on the maps surface. Then after a considerable amount of time, he spoke.  
  
"You can descend into the sublevels here, at this main junction. We'll keep ropes on hand to haul you up in a hurry if need be, so don't worry about getting out. Just get down there, avoid contact with the zombies whenever possible, and get to the breached grilles. You're going to have to seal the opening with thermite and sheet metal which is already in the area."  
  
Joel nodded as he examined the map. He noted escape routes and possible alternate routes throughout the schematic and kept track of them in his memory as well as marking them down on a small notepad.  
  
"Do you have any questions?"  
  
"Sir, no sir."  
  
"Very well Sergeant. Dismissed."  
  
Joel saluted again and spun about. Once he exited the tent he saw his men standing outside waiting for him. They all looked at him expectantly, and though he knew they were ready for action still, he could see the tiredness setting in on their faces, and in their posture.  
  
"Well we got another op. We're heading into the tunnels underneath here, and we gotta seal up a hole that the deadies are coming in through. We're gonna use thermite and sheet metal that we should find at the hole. I got the map and location, so let's head out. Crisp, you're on point."  
  
The Marines and operators strapped on their helmets and loaded their weapons. A minute later, they were at their designated entry point. Four rangers stood guard above the open grate. A drop line dangled hole and disappeared into the dark. Crisp looked at the hole with slight misgivings before turning to Joel.  
  
"I knew I should have stayed at home and become a damn cook. But no. Instead I sign up for this shit and go rappelling into dark ass holes filled with the fucking undead."  
  
All the men switched on flashlights mounted to their weapons and hooked onto the line. Crisp sighed and jumped down, zipping into the dark. Joel watched as his men dropped into the abyss one at a time before following them down himself.  
  
At the bottom of the tunnel, Joel and his men found themselves in the middle of a horizontal tunnel, running in both directions. They had taken up defensive positions facing both ways, and at the moment it was all clear. Joel then motioned for Crisp to head down the northern part of the tunnel.  
  
"We've got to head down in that direction. There should be a T- junction about a hundred yards that way, then we hang a right. Another thirty yards and a left. Then we should be able to head straight and hit the breach. Got it Crispy?"  
  
"Got it Gunny."  
  
"Good, everyone keep your spacing, and Bear, you got the tail."  
  
"You got it Gunny."  
  
The squad then moved out through the tunnel, slowly and cautiously. They swept every dark corner, every crevice and crack. The lights on their rifles played over every possible hiding place. They were all too aware of how one scratch would doom them, and none were eager to brave a close encounter with the zombies.  
  
After about ten minutes, they reached the first T-junction and Crisp swung out to the right and Townsend to the left. They both signaled the all clear sign and the squad began filing out into the intersecting tunnel. Then Bear yelled out from the rear.  
  
"We got incoming Gunny!"  
  
Bear punctuated his statement with a burst of fire from his rifle and Gunny sprung into action.  
  
"Double time it! Head down that tunnel now!"  
  
The squad never hesitated and began running down the tunnel. Bear fired a final burst before following them down the tunnel. The zombies continued their mindless pursuit, ever following the men down the tunnel.  
  
Crisp immediately found the left hand turn and dashed into it. And he barreled straight into a zombie. The rotting creature reached for him with leprous finger tips but Crisp was too well trained to let a single zombie take him down.  
He countered the grasping hands with an upward sweep of his rifle, knocking the zombies backward off balance. Once he had cleared some space between them, Crisp raised his rifle again and blasted the head from the creature's shoulders. Then, unfazed, he continued leading the way down the tunnel.  
  
They reached the breach without further incident. Crisp and Townsend found a large sheet of steel about two inches thick and began wrestling it into position in front of the breach. Joel and Johnson jumped up and helped them, and between the four they managed to wedge it firmly into the gaping hole to seal it.  
  
"Dell, set the thermite."  
  
Dell immediately began molding chunks of thermite around the rim of the steel plate to seal it against the breach. After several minutes, Dell's work was complete and he signaled to Joel with a thumbs up. He held a small detonator in his hand and began back away from the charge down the left tunnel.  
  
"We need to give it some space."  
  
Everyone followed suit except for Bear who fired his rifle again.  
  
"We got incoming again, this tunnel is jam packed."  
  
"They're in this tunnel too!"  
  
Johnson fired at several zombies lurching down the right hand tunnel. Crisp went to join him and Townsend began firing at the zombies in Bear's tunnel when Dell yelled out. He had backed up directly into a waiting zombie and now the undead creature had a grip on him from behind. Dell struggled to break free, but before he could escape the zombie's grasp, the rotting corpse sunk it's diseased teeth deep into his neck.  
  
Dell gurgled blood and clutched at the wound with one hand, while still holding the detonator in the other. The zombie kept its death grip on Dell and continued to bite at his neck, widening the wound and ripping at his fingers and hand as well. Joel snapped his rifle up and blew the zombie's head off, but the damage was already done.  
  
Dell was infected with the contagion, and was mortally wounded as well. In a matter of minutes, he would bleed out and join the ranks of the undead. Joel saw the realization in his eyes as he staggered back to the seal and the thermite charge. Dell jerked his head at Joel and closed his eyes as he waited. Joel and Jonesy then swung into the left tunnel and saw it was clear before yelling to the others to follow them. They all quickly ran past Dell and the breach into the safe tunnel and ran down it. A minute later, a searing blast of light and an incredible heat wave coursed through the tunnel.  
  
Joel shook his head in sorrow as he left yet another man behind, victim of the unsparing evil of the virus. He jogged along quickly through the clear tunnel, following his mental map to where an escape route was. Bear kept his ever vigilant watch on they're rear even as he ran, and everyone in the middle just followed obediently, with their weapons at the ready.  
  
Soon enough they reached the intersection they had been looking for, only to find it infested with zombies. Joel was quickly becoming exasperated with the undead's uncanny ability to show up everywhere they weren't wanted. He signaled a stop and everyone save for Bear drew a bead on a target.  
  
"For Dell, cut them down."  
  
The squad opened fire on full automatic. The blasts of assault rifles was deafening in the tight confines of the tunnel, but none of the men cared. They fired until there was nothing left, in the tunnel and in their magazines. After about three seconds of firing, the corridor was silent and the zombies were dispatched.  
  
The men reloaded their weapons and began creeping cautiously forward when Bear yelled out in alarm.  
  
"Gunny! We'd best get this show moving! We got company again."  
  
Bear fired his rifle down the tunnel, dropping a fat zombie, his guts hanging out his side. Joel threw caution to the wind and began running down the tunnel again, the squad following right on his tail. Bear lagged a few seconds behind, emptying his magazine then turning and running down the tunnel as well.  
  
A left at the intersection and another hundred or so meters found the Marines and Delta underneath an exit shaft. Jonesy pulled a flare from his vest and lit it, signaling their presence to the ranger guards above. A single knotted climb rope fell to the bottom of the shaft, and sounds of gunfire drifted to the squad's ears. Joel gritted his teeth as he listened for a moment then shook his head.  
  
"Ok guys, up the rope. Double time it, I have no idea what's going on topside, but it sounds bad."  
  
And so the Marines and Delta began climbing up the rope, one after another. It was no small feat under the burden of armor, weapon, and combat gear, but they did it without question or complaint. Joel was reminded of the caliber of warriors, and of men that his teammates were, and once more he felt a fierce pride at being able to fight along side them.  
  
Once on the surface, a vision of hell greeted the recent escapees. Zombies had broken through the defenses in several places and were now flooding into the safe zone. Joel looked and saw two Humvees burning next to the sideline entrance, and could make out the bodies of rangers immolating inside.  
  
All around pandemonium ensued as people sought to flee, and rangers fought to protect them. A young woman was dragged down, screaming by a female zombie, who might have been the same age. Hell, for all Joel knew, they could have been friends in the previous life. But the hypothetical friendship ended as the zombie sunk her teeth deep into the woman's neck. She spasmed for a few moments, then was still.  
  
Joel surveyed the destruction around him with a practiced eye, and quickly decided what had to be done. He slapped a fresh magazine into his rifle and pulled the charging handle.  
  
"Ok boys, pair off. This seems to be the end here, so fight to save who you can, and bug out when you can't do anymore. Hopefully I will see you all on the other side, away from here. It's been an honor and a privilege, and a damned pleasure to serve with you all."  
  
The remaining Marines and Delta nodded, understanding Joel's orders and intentions. Without another word they paired off and ran in different directions toward separate and individual battles. Joel saw that Johnson remained behind with him and smiled.  
  
"Just you and me big guy."  
  
"Aye Gunny, and I wouldn't have it any other way."  
  
Joel nodded and smiled, then began leading Johnson towards the infirmary. He knew that his family would have gotten out the instant there were signs of trouble, but the one he worried about was Julie. Her mobility had been pretty limited, and Joel wanted to make certain that she had been evacuated and not left behind.  
  
As they approached, they saw that three rangers where fighting a losing battle to hold the line against the ever advancing hordes of zombies. Joel and Johnson lent their firepower to the task as Joel queried the nearest ranger.  
  
"Corporal, is everyone out of the med tent?"  
  
"No idea Gunny, people stopped running out of there a few minutes ago. We're about to pull back."  
  
"Hold the line just a minute longer, I'm going to check it out. Johnson, give the rangers a hand here."  
  
Johnson stood next to the ranger and fired at the nearest zombies as Joel pulled the tent flaps aside and plunged into the interior. Empty beds and spilled supplies greeted him, the area seemingly deserted. But Joel still had to make sure and ran to the back of the tent to check Julie's bed.  
  
He found her next to the cot, her head in her knees weeping. Joel quickly kneeled down beside her and took her into his arms. Her body jerked in surprise, but quickly relaxed when she realized it was him.  
  
"Oh god Joel, I thought everyone had left me. There was so much screaming and gunfire, I was so afraid."  
  
"Nonsense kid, I would never leave you behind. This is what I signed on for, protecting the ones I care about. Now lets get some clothes on you real quick, and I'll get you out of here."  
  
Julie nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes as she pulled on a pair of sweatpants and put her old shirt back on in lieu of the hospital gown. She slipped into her sneakers and Joel put her arm around his neck as he helped her limp out of the tent. Johnson and the rangers were still firing at the zombies, who grew larger each passing second.  
  
"Johnson! That's everyone, let's bug out!"  
  
Johnson followed Joel and Julie to about halfway to the helicopter where they turned and provided cover fire for the retreating rangers. The rangers in turn wheeled and ran to the chopper, where they turned again and covered Joel and Johnson.  
  
There were only two Blackhawks remaining, and one was already loaded to capacity and the other was almost full. The full chopper took off, hovering and providing cover fire with the miniguns, while the second chopper hovered a foot above the ground. Joel and Julie staggered to the bay door and the crew chief spoke to Joel.  
  
"We're almost at capacity Gunny, we only got room for one more. We'll have to ditch equipment to get you all aboard. But we gotta hurry, there's an airstrike inbound! In another minute, this place is going to be mighty hot."  
  
Joel glanced back to see Johnson ringed by zombies, firing until his rifle was empty then using it as a club to bat the dead away. The three rangers saw they weren't going to make it out on the bird and charged into the mass of infected in a vain attempt to save Johnson. Joel immediately knew he wasn't going to make it out alive either.  
  
"Take her, and get the hell out of here. There's no time."  
  
The crew chief nodded and helped pull Julie into the chopper. She spun and stared at Joel, fully expecting him to climb aboard as well, but shocked when he pulled back and reloaded his rifle. The chopper began lifting up and Joel stepped back even more as Julie tried to reach for him. She screamed his name and tried to leave the chopper, but the crew chief held her back.  
  
Her eyes never left Joel's as he silently mouthed something to her. Then he turned and fired. Higher and higher still the chopper climbed, its sister bird already disappearing into the horizon. Julie cried and screamed and yelled Joel's name as his form grew more and more distant.  
  
He fired and fired, dropping zombies with every squeeze of the trigger until finally he ran out of ammunition. He gripped his rifle like a club an beat the zombies back, whirling and striking. He knew his doom was upon him, yet he was strangely calm. When the zombies finally closed in on him, he stopped and looked up at the sky, his eyes unfocused. He saw the chopper, but he was looking at Julie. In the last seconds of his life, Sergeant Joel Roscord, United States Marine Corps, knew that his calling had been answered, that he had died protecting the ones he loved.  
  
Julie stared as Joel stopped fighting and looked up, her eyes somehow meeting his over the distance. She saw the love and compassion in his eyes, she saw straight into his soul. She knew inside that Joel had loved her, that he had died to save her. And as the airstrike came in, and Joel and the zombies, and all the bodies of soldiers and Marines in the stadium were consumed in fire, she knew one thing.  
  
In the back of a Blackhawk, bound for God knows where, Julie wept. She wept for the tragedy, for the loss of life. She wept for all those who had died in the senseless violence of the virus, and she wept for all those who had died to protect the rest of humanity. But most of all, she wept for one man, for Joel Roscord. The one who had given up everything for her, the one she loved. 


End file.
